Salamander News 12/02/2020
Trying to Decide Between Plan A/B/C and Virtual Academy for Second Semester?
The window to choose between Plan A/B/C and Virtual Academy will be open from December 2nd through December 9th. No changes can be made outside of this window. Mr. Evans, our principal, will be available to answer families' questions for a second time in an optional Google Meet this Wednesday (12/2) at 5:00. He will stay in the meet for as long as there are questions. Families have already been sent a link to this meeting through School Messenger, and the link will also be sent by teachers through Talking Points before the meeting. We cannot share the link on the website because it is not secure.
All of the information about registering for WCPSS Virtual Academy or Plan A/B/C can be found here: https://www.wcpss.net/Page/46086.
You should complete the application if:
- Your student is not currently registered in the WCPSS Virtual Academy for the spring semester but wants to be;
- Your student registered in the WCPSS Virtual Academy for the fall only and wants to continue for the spring semester;
- Your student is registered for the WCPSS Virtual Academy in the spring semester, but wants to change to Plan A/B/C.
You don't need to complete the application if:
- Your student is currently registered in the WCPSS Virtual Academy for the full year and wishes to continue for the spring semester;
- Your student is currently registered in the WCPSS Virtual Academy for the fall semester only and wishes to switch to Plan A/B/C for the spring semester;
- Your student is registered for Plan A/B/C and you wish to continue with Plan A/B/C.
- This will not be school like it used to be. We will still focus on building relationships and engaging every student, but our movement, activities, and interaction will be more limited because of safety precautions.
- Governor Cooper has approved the return of students under Plan A, which includes important safety measures, such as face coverings, social distancing, symptom screening and cleaning but does not require schools to reduce the number of children in the classroom.
- Social distancing will be a priority, but students and staff will not always be six feet apart. Once all students in Plan A/B/C return to school, some spaces will not be big enough to ensure six-foot social distancing. Also, there are times when six-foot social distancing would not allow the teacher to adequately supervise all students. For example, 20 students in a class with six-foot social distancing would equal a 120' line; 30 students would lead to a 180' line. There is no way to have such a long line in most classrooms, and the teacher would not be able to supervise the end of such a line in the hallway. When social distancing is not feasible, teachers will focus on preventing students from facing each other.
- School staff will ensure the students are wearing their face coverings at all times when they are not eating, drinking, or taking a face covering break following these guidelines.
- If your child becomes ill at school, families will be notified and must immediately pick up their child. The child may not ride the bus or be transported by a staff member. This means that families without transportation will need to find a way to pick up their child.
- Children may not return to school until these criteria are met. Note that the guidelines for returning to school are different depending on the circumstances.
- The guidelines for Plan A/BC students could change over time as guidance from political and health officials changes. Plan A/B/C could become more or less restrictive.
- Regardless of which plan you pick for the second semester, there is a chance that your child's teacher could change as teachers are assigned to Plan A/B/C or Virtual Academy classes based on families' choices. Teacher assignments will not be considered until the end of the window for families to chose their plan for second semester.
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Whatever plan you pick will be your plan until the end of the year. Staffing, scheduling, and planning decisions for the second semester will be based on the number of students in Plan A/B/C and Virtual Academy. Making a choice for the second semester is the family's responsibility. The school will not be able to change your child's plan because you forgot to submit your request or changed your mind.